The opening round of the NASCAR Cup Series playoffs only features one more race, and it puts more pressure on those at the bottom of the 16-driver standings.
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The field will cut to only 12 drivers after Saturday's race at Bristol Motor Speedway. The other four drivers will see their championship dreams fade away.
The four drivers currently below the Round of 12 cutline heading to Bristol are Austin Dillon (-11), Shane van Gisbergen (-15), Alex Bowman (-35), and Josh Berry (-45). Three of these drivers entered the playoffs at the bottom of the standings, but van Gisbergen joined them after consecutive finishes of 25th or worse.
16 will become 12 at @ItsBristolBaby. pic.twitter.com/1M3PvCl1KE
— NASCAR (@NASCAR) September 8, 2025
The Trackhouse Racing driver set out with the goal of performing above average at three ovals and taking advantage of his playoff points earned through four wins. He and the team fell short at both Darlington and Gateway.
The first race featured van Gisbergen struggling with handling. A pit strategy call then backfired due to the timing of a late caution. He finished 32nd. Van Gisbergen then spun at Gateway and received two pit road penalties. He finished 25th.
"We were too tight in traffic, and then eventually got on the other side of it and I made an error and spun," van Gisbergen said. "We just couldn't get it back. We weren't amazing. We were probably a 15th-place car, but then detuned it a little bit and ended up where we did.
"Little frustrating, but it's kind of where we're at. 20th and 15th is a huge improvement for us, but obviously in the playoffs, you expect more. There's that pressure there."
Dillon's team struggled with execution at Darlington Raceway and then the No. 3 Chevrolet simply lacked speed at Gateway. This kept the Richard Childress Racing driver from contending for top-10 finishes.
Berry, for comparison, has dealt with a nightmare start to the playoffs. He crashed on the opening lap at Darlington and finished last in the field. He then crashed at Gateway after contact from Chase Elliott and finished last again. Now, he can only win his way into the Round of 12.
Bowman has finished both races, but he and his team have struggled mightily. This is particularly true regarding pit road, where two different stops have derailed the team.
One stop took 40 seconds as the No. 48 crew had to recover from an air hose disconnecting. Another stop dropped Bowman from inside the top 10 to 30th after the crew dropped the car without the left rear wheel attached.
Joey Logano, who started the playoffs buried in the standings, took advantage of van Gisbergen's misfortune at Gateway. The reigning champion ran in the top three in the final two stages before crossing the line in fifth place. This helped him leapfrog three drivers and gain a 21-point cushion to the cutline. '
Logano is now ahead of teammate Austin Cindric (+11) and Trackhouse Racing's Ross Chastain (+19). He has a better opportunity to keep his pursuit of a fourth championship moving forward.
